This research will deal with intercountry adoption (i.e. the adoption of foreign born children by American families). We will explore the social and cultural characteristics of inter-country adopting families and describe their authority structures, divisions of labor and conceptions of child rearing. We will attempt to relate family patterns to the motivations for inter-country adoption, sources of stress in adoptive relationships and the willingness to adopt so called "hard to place" children. Since World War II and especially during the last five years, there has been an unprecedented expansion of inter-country adoptions. We think these increases are associated with changes taking place in contemporary family life. Adoption appears to be an increasingly elected mode of family formation. In this study we are particularly concerned with assessing the impact of family changes on adoption. Detailed comparisons will be made in the patterns of family life and the adoption process between traditional adopting families (i.e. infertile adopters) and voluntaristic adopters (i.e. those choosing adoption rather than or in addition to biological parenthood). The research will be based on a sample of approximately 400 inter-country adopting families, the vast majority of whom will be queried by mail questionnaire, and a smaller number who will be interviewed. The sample will be drawn primarily from lists provided by adoptive parent organizations. The proposed study, hopefully, will provide some systematic information useful for students of the family, policy makers in the adoption field, present day and prospective adoptive parents and children.